Wednesday, October 5, 2016

The Price Attached

We all know our choices have consequences. And most of the time we sail blissfully through our day not considering many of the choices we make, or their full impact on us. And the fact that our days are really an unending stream of choices, one after another, upon reflection, is something that could bring us to a halt, so we tend to ignore it.
The choices we make with regard to Attire and how we utilize it are no less important or resonant than any others we make. And in some ways they are more so. Whether we like to think of it this way or not, we are judging and being judged constantly. We are being scrutinized, categorized and filed away in other people's minds. We may not perceive it as fair, but we do it, all of us do it, all day, every day. What is unfair is taking our perceptions of others through their apparel and creating an instant negative judgement of them without understanding the circumstances behind what we see. And yet, nearly all of us, even those who make a genuine effort to be non-judgemental, end up doing this same thing all the time.

What it means for us as individuals is that there is a hidden price to be paid out that relates to the choices we make in our apparel. That choice, like it or not, is that we will be judged, compartmentalized, and shuffled into some internal filing system. It's what we do. We've always done it. It isn't fair. It isn't honorable, but it's what we do. Should we work to change it? Of course we should. And honestly I am seeing the glimmerings of that change happening. We are not there yet, though, so we must consider our options. And, honestly, we are working against millennia of inborn patterning about how to survive. We will not let go of this easily. That is especially true considering how much our culture encourages us to judge others automatically.

In the mean time it is the worst folly to assume that what we choose to comparison ourselves with has no effect on others, and on their reactions to us. It is a wise person who considers these things.
Our Attire is one of the first things people see about us, and like the first words from our mouths do a great deal to form the ultimate impression we make on others. Sure, it's possible to get people to reconsider their position, but it's tougher to change minds than it is to get them to see you clearly right off the bat.

I am not suggesting for a moment that you decide to turn yourself into some bland cypher of a person with not visual identity of your own. Far from it. I only say this. If you want to walk this world and state your case to those you encounter, do so with full honesty, and a full understanding of what you are about. If you are and want to be seen as a potent business person, then by all means present yourself that way. If you want to be seen as a great artist, then present that. Whatever it is you want to be, create that and serve it up hot. But the most important point is this. You must own it for truth for yourself first. A lie is a lie, and folks out there in the world will see through a deception if you don't believe it yourself. So take care that what you choose to say is the truth for you, whatever that may be.

1 comment:

I ran across this in a NYTimes article on Kate Middleton's visit to Canada.

In a letter to one of her sons, Queen Victoria, whom a historian once called “the first media monarch,” wrote that what you wear gives “the one outward sign from which people in general can and often do judge upon the inward state of mind and feeling of a person; for this they all see, while the other they cannot.”

About Me

Here you will find a place to move behind the surface of fashion and attire, to look at its deeper meanings and motivations. Everything and anything from the ancient world to the most outrageously edgy is up for discussion. Dive right in and have a great time!
I've been a student of costume history and the sociology of apparel both formally, and informally for 40 years. I've also worked as a professional costumer. And I have a passion for all things relating to how we manifest ourselves in a physical sense, and what it means about us.